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The highly anticipated "Minecraft" movie has turned into a blockbuster hit for Warner Bros. Discovery Inc (NASDAQ:WBD) and could be a revenue generator for theater companies like AMC Entertainment (NYSE:AMC) and Cinemark Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:CNK).
The impressive box office numbers will also likely mean more video games getting adapted into movies and TV series as media companies look for built-in fan bases.
What Happened: Billionaire Elon Musk is well-known for many things, including his love of video games such as "Diablo 4" and "Elden Ring."
With the success of "Minecraft" at the box office, Musk is now hoping for one of those hit games to be made into a movie.
Musk responded to former Blizzard Entertainment executive Mark Kern, also known as Grummz, who shared a post from GamesIndustry suggesting more video game adaptations are likely coming.
"Just like comics were in the past, the rich history of video games is now the wellspring of creative storytelling," Musk tweeted.
One X user suggested that they should make a movie based on "Elden Ring" next.
"That would be awesome," Musk replied.
Musk has often shared his love of the 2022 video game developed by FromSoftware that counts Japanese game developer Hidetaka Miyazaki and "Game of Thrones" author George R.R. Martin as figures who worked on the development of the action role-playing game.
"Minecraft" opened with $162.8 million domestically and has now grossed $278.9 million domestically and $552.7 million worldwide. The film is the top-grossing film domestically in 2025 beating "Captain America: Brave New World" and is the second-highest-grossing film worldwide for the year.
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What's Next: The success of "Minecraft" could lead to more video games being made into movies and shows. "Minecraft" was released in 2011 and the game's parent Mojang was later acquired by Microsoft Corp. (NASDAQ:MSFT) for $2.5 billion in 2014.
The film came with a built-in fan base of varying ages, which could explain how it beat original estimates of $70 to $90 million for its domestic opening. As movie studios and streamers look for their next hits, games with built-in fan bases could be attractive.
"Minecraft itself is a cultural juggernaut — over 300 million copies sold, and a fanbase spanning kids to adults who've been building pixelated empires for years," Exhibitor Relations box office analyst Jeff Bock told GamesIndustry.
Alinea Analytics Head of Market Analysis Rhys Elliott highlighted the timing of the film not being around other blockbusters and coming at a time when many schools were on spring break as a potential win by Warner Bros. marketing team.
Elliott said recent hits like "The Super Mario Bros. Movie" and the Sonic film franchise have shown how video game adaptations can be successful.
“The Mario movie even outperformed juggernauts like Frozen and Despicable Me. If studios weren't paying attention to games before, they certainly were after Mario. And now Minecraft is another feather in that cap," Elliott said.
While more announcements could be made, there are already many video games in the works of being adapted into films or shows, including "Death Stranding," which was announced as a new A24 movie after "Minecraft's" opening.
Up next for game adaptations is the April 25, 2025, release of the "Until Dawn" movie from Sony Group Corp (NYSE:SONY), as reported by IGN. There are also sequels to "Mortal Kombat" and "Five Nights at Freddy's" scheduled for this year. In 2026, movies include "Street Fighter," and "The Super Mario Bros. Movie 2."
On the television side, "The Last of Us" has been a successful video game adaptation to TV for Warner Bros. Discovery with a second season recently premiering on HBO and Max. "Fallout" has also been a hit for Amazon.com Inc (NASDAQ:AMZN), with a second season in the works and the first season leading to strong sales for the video game franchise.
The success of the “Minecraft” movie could also be a positive for Netflix Inc (NASDAQ:NFLX), which is working on a series adaptation of the hit game.
While many video game adaptations have been hits, not all of them work out. The 2024 "Borderlands" film grossed less than $20 million domestically and grossed $33 million worldwide.
Speculation about the hit Epic Games "Fortnite" battle royale game being turned into a movie was quickly downplayed by Epic Games CEO Tim Sweeney, as reported by ComicBookMovie.com. Sweeney tweeted "false" to a fan's post that "Fortnite" would be the next game adapted for the big screen and that some studios had already passed on the film rights. Sweeney did not clarify which part or, if both, were false.
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